New AIO releases: bumGenius Freetime, ones&twos, Thirsties AIO

In the past couple months, a handful of new AIO diapers have been released. As an obsessed a dedicated cloth diapering mama, I of course had to get my hands on them to try them out, especially since most of my stash has become AIOs.

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bumGenius Freetime






BGFT on smallest setting

BGFT on medium setting

BGFT on largest setting

The Freetime was released a while ago, so it's not really a "new" new release, but it's one of the newest! The Freetime is made by bumGenius and is a cross between their 4.0 pocket and their Elemental. All three diapers are one-size. It features a sewn-in soaker like the Elemental (though only one end of each flap is sewn down instead of both like the Elemental), but offers a stay-dry feeling like the 4.0 pocket.  Also like the 4.0, the diaper is made of suedecloth and microfiber (which contrasts with the natural fibers of the Elemental). The Freetime comes in 13 colors and two prints and retails for $19.95. You can get it in either snaps or velcro.






Opened

Opened, soaker flaps spread out








Opened, showing opening in soaker flaps. Note the opening is only four or so inches long, so a full insert couldn't fit in there.

~19 pound, 29", 7.5 month old

~19 pound, 29", 7.5 month old

On a ~19 pound, 29", 7.5 month old

Drying time: 
Inner microfiber is still very slightly damp after a 1 hour, 39 minute dry on extra low.

What do I like about it?
bumGenius diapers are universally high-quality and fit a wide variety of babies well, partly thanks to their great stretchy tabs.  Because of the flaps, it dries quickly (more quickly than the Elemental, though not substantially). The suedecloth resists staining and generally stays about as soft as it was new for the duration of the diaper's life. All bumGenius diapers feature their great stretchy tabs that give a fantastic fit for almost all babies, and the Freetime is no exception. It's trimmer than a pocket stuffed with two microfiber inserts.

What don't I like about it?
It's not as trim as the Elemental, which continues to be my favorite. bumGenius diapers all come with three rise settings, which may not fit small babies very well (ours didn't start fitting until about 10-12 pounds).  And they used suedecloth, which has great benefits, but I find that after washing a bumGenius diaper, I am forever picking hair and lint off the inside of it that collects during drying (if you only line dry this wouldn't be as much of an issue). Possibly a deal-breaker on this diaper is the difficulty in spraying poop off. I hate to bring up such a unappetizing topic, but let's face it - we're talking about diapers, so poop is going to be discussed.  The flap system that they used for the soaker can be tricky to use with a diaper sprayer. Ensuring that the back flap is the one on top can help with that to some extent.

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ones&twos


O&T, smallest setting

O&T, one of the medium settings

O&T, largest setting

The new ones&twos AIO is a new brand as well as a new diaper - oh, excuse me. NAPPY. They're an Australian brand, so they get to use the oh-so-awesome word nappy instead of diaper.  They consist of a one-size diaper with a completely sewn-in soaker (very similar to bumGenius sized AIOs) with a stay-dry lining that I believe is suedecloth. The diaper itself also features a stuffable pocket (agian, similar to bumGenius sized AIOs).  Included in the diaper purchase is a separate insert that is microfiber topped with (I believe) a stay-dry microfleece. This setup allows you to use the diaper alone or the diaper with the insert, and the insert can go inside the pocket or simply be laid on top. The ones&twos come in six bright colors and retail for $16.95. It only comes with velcro.

Opened, no insert

Laundry tabs

Inserts alone - stay dry topper on the left, flipped to show microfiber bottom on the right

O&T with insert on top of diaper, tucked into flap (as they suggest)

Front flap

~19 pound, 29", 7.5 month old (with the insert)

~19 pound, 29", 7.5 month old (with the insert)

~19 pound, 29", 7.5 month old

Drying time: 
Dried on high for 30 minutes to seal PUL, and inside microfiber was still quite damp. Did 1 hr 39 mins on extra low (how I generally dry all my diapers when not using a line) and it was completely dry by then.

What do I like about it?
It feels very high quality. Everything about it is soft. The pocket opening is at the front, which I like (as generally, for us anyway, poop goes up the back of the diaper). The pocket opening allows you to customize the absorbency with additional inserts, doublers, or boosters easily.  It is extremely trim without the separate insert.  The fact that there are four rise settings instead of three (which seems to be more common) means that it will fit a smaller baby than most one-size diapers.  It is narrower between the legs that many other diapers, which I really love. The separate insert lets you choose which you want to prioritize: trimness or absorbency. I love the soft laundry tabs - no scratches here! The best diaper I can compare it to would be the old discontinued bumGenius sized all-in-ones - which are some of my favorite diapers - with the addition of a soaker, a slightly different pocket opening, and, of course, the size settings.

What don't I like about it?
While I love that the pocket opening is in the front, the way it's configured with the flap opening facing towards the inside of the diaper means that poop could (and probably will) get inside the pocket. When you're dealing with a breastfed baby, that's not a huge deal since you just chuck the whole thing into the wash. However, when you get into (I'm sorry for this) chunky solid food poop, cleaning poop out of a pocket opening is NOT something you want to deal with.  (Note: if you just set the insert in without tucking it into the flap or stuffing the insert into the pocket, it will mostly prevent this.) While I like the separate insert for many reasons, it is another part to keep track of after washing - so if you don't like pockets for that reason, you may not like this.  The diaper is SO narrow between the legs that I couldn't stuff the extra insert inside easily - the inside of the diaper was too narrow for my average-sized hands. There's no way my husband could stuff this diaper. Luckily, since it's topped with fleece, you don't have to stuff it.

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Thirsties All-in-One


Thirsties, smallest setting (size 2)

Thirsties, medium setting (size 2)

Thirsties, largest setting (size 2)

Thirsties, like bumGenius, offers a wide variety of diaper types. However, they've never had an all-in-one until now.  They have prefolds, fitteds, pockets, covers, and now with the Thirsties AIOs they've just about covered every diaper type possible.  All Thirsties diapers and covers come in Duo sizing system: size one fits about 6-18lbs, and size two fits about 18-40 lbs). I got the size 2. Their AIO is stuffable, much like the ones&twos.  It consists of a microfiber soakers sewn into a diaper and topped with a microfleece stay-dry liner. The diaper is open on both ends to allow for faster drying times, and allows you to add an additional insert, doubler, or booster (none are included). It comes in nine solid colors and four prints, and retails for $15.75 (solids) and $16.75 (prints).  It is available in both snaps and velcro.


Opened

 

Laundry tabs

Pocket opening with built-in absobant layer

~19 pound, 29", 7.5 month old

~19 pound, 29", 7.5 month old

~19 pound, 29", 7.5 month old

Drying time:
Just like the ones&twos, I dried it on high for 30 minutes to seal PUL, and the inside microfiber was still quite damp after that. Then I did 1 hr 39 mins on extra low (how I generally dry all my diapers when not using a line) and it was completely dry.

What do I like about it?
The Duo sizing system works well for smaller babies, as there are three sizing options within each of the two Duo sizes (so between a size one and a size two, there are six sizes). The sleeve opening allows the diaper to be turned completely inside out if needed for washing or drying, and you can add extra absorbency. It fit very well.  The workmanship is very high quality, like all Thirsties products.

What don't I like about it?
I love microfleece at the beginning - it's SO soft, and I love that it doesn't collect hair and fuzz like suedecloth.  But after use, it does start to get pilly and just a bit rougher (however, given the choice between the two, I'd prefer microfleece over suedecloth). I do miss the double gussets that their covers and pockets offer, but I understand the difficulty in including those (their fitteds don't have them either, but I don't miss them there). It's slightly bulky - definitely not the trimmest diaper in our stash. This is the only diaper we had leaks with - but it was a big poop, something that the other diapers weren't lucky enough to receive. The aplix on this diaper and the laundry tabs SUCK. It is not very sticky at all, and the laundry tabs often come undone.

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Now, to compare all three.


L-R BGFT, O&T, Thirsties - smallest setting*

Medium setting

Largest setting

Opened (O&T insert on top)

*Note that the Thirsties is a size two and not a one-size diaper, and as such wouldn't be expected to get as small as a one-size diaper.

Trimness:
Of the three, the O&T (ones&twos) without the separate insert is the trimmest. With the insert, all three are about the same, with the BGFT (bumGenius Freetime) possibly being very slightly trimmer than the other two.

Drying Time:
In terms of drying times, the BGFT wins, hands down. The other can dry more quickly if turned inside-out, but that's a pain and I feel like it may stretch or tear the PUL if you do that too often. However, thanks to the pocket openings on the O&T and the Thirsties, drying time isn't insane. The O&T seems to have a slight edge over the Thirsties.

Fit:
They all fit my daughter about the same, though the O&T is trimmest width-wise between the legs, with Thirsties a close second and BGFT the widest. Given a newborn or much larger child, I think we'd see more marked differences, with the O&T being the smallest and trimmest for a small baby, and the BGFT possibly being the largest for a toddler (though it's hard to say - the Thirsties looks about the same as the BGFT on the largest settings).

Absorbency:
No leaks or wicking from any in a normal wet diaper.  However, I did have a liquid poop leak around the seams of the Thirsties. I want to be clear that she ONLY pooped in the Thirsties, so I can't speak to whether this would have happened to any of the others.  I did dry them on high to seal the pinholes from sewing, but still got that seepage.  She is on a weekly pooping schedule, so, ahem, her poops have quite a bit of force to them. This may not happen with regular poops. (Was that the most you've read about poop all day? And consider yourself lucky - I had a picture to include but lost it!)

Quality:
Initial impression: they are all about the same, with the exception of the Thirsties aplix being the worst.  I have a large rotation and haven't used any of the diapers long enough to see about longevity, but I don't anticipate any issues with any of them.

Snaps:
I got velcro/aplix for all of mine - right now we're at a very wiggly stage, and I need to be able to change her fast. However, note that the Thirsties snaps come in a straight horizontal line of two snaps, while the BGFT comes in a vertical line of two snaps (see stock pics from their sites below). Neither has crossover snap tabs. The snap configurations can make a huge difference on how diapers fit your child! The O&T is only available in aplix at this time.

BGFT on left, Thirsties on right

Overall:
Honestly, none of them offer anything hugely groundbreaking, in my opinion. All of these things have been done before in some way, shape, or form. There was nothing that made me gasp and say, "Oh, my gosh! Why didn't they think of that before??" I haven't seen stay-dry flaps in that specific configuration like the BGFT offers, but I've seen flaps on other diaper. I haven't seen two openings in an AIO like the Thirsties offers, but I've seen AIOs with openings. I haven't seen an AIO with an extra soaker plus regular absorbency like the O&T offers, but I've seen them with removable soakers. Overall, I want to like the ones&twos best because of the trimness and narrowness between the legs, and I like the customizable soaker. However, I haven't used any of them enough for one to jump to the front as of yet.  I will update this further if a clear frontrunner emerges with more use.